The Red List
by Dorian Windslasher
Summary: A sequel loosely affiliated to Unrequited. The slayer army bring in old friends for the hunt, while Buffy tries to deal with confusing feelings.
1. The Red List

Disclaimer: I own disturbingly little. The Buffyverse or anything related to Vampire: The masquerade, are not among these things.

A/n: Special thanks for Barnabas.C who has inspired me to write this as well as helped me with the general quality of story. Awesome author, check his/her stuff out when you're done with this.

Also, anybody who adds this story to favourites without reviewing will be hunted down and slapped right in the face. Be afraid, be very afraid.

* * *

"What're you doing?" inquired a sleepy Buffy Summers, rolling over to her side in the bed.

"Reading," replied Satsu. She put the heavy tome aside, faced the blonde and kissed her hungrily.

"You're such a good student," remarked the senior slayer, a content sigh passing by her lips as the other attacked her throat with kisses.

"Had to do something to keep myself from ravishing you while you were still aslee--aah…" The sentence ended in a soft moan as Buffy moved on top of her, pushing her leg in between Satsu's thighs. On the side of the bed, the book titled "The Red List" lay forgotten--for the time being.

It had been almost a month now since their first night. Buffy hadn't lied then, it had been special and not only because it was her first time with another woman. There had not really been any talking about it, besides a playful and well-meaning teasing from the few who had caught them at it. Xander, in particular, thought it was hilarious, although mainly because Satsu would have been jailbait in America. She had turned eighteen two weeks prior, though, but that obviously had not shut the carpenter up.

Willow was mainly worried that Buffy would break the other slayer's heart, a worry they both shared. Was she just using Satsu for really, really great sex? At first, she was convinced and ashamed of it, that she was doing the same stupid mistake she had done with Spike. Now, four weeks later, she doesn't even know. She knows she cares for the girl, a great deal, more so than that of a student-teacher relationship (even a very forbidden one). There's friendship, sharing as well as something else, just out of reach of her perception.

---

It was 8 o'clock in the evening and all the forces in Scotland and England were gathered in the "Great Hall", as Dawn had seen it fit to dub the cavernesque dining room. Over a hundred and fifty slayers were present along with a few surprise guests Buffy had invited.

The moment she stepped up on the podium, which consisted of several large tables put next to each other, everyone went quiet. She didn't even need a microphone.

"The red list," she began loudly, starting to pace back and forth across the podium. "It's the list of the fifteen most vicious vampires ever recorded by the watcher's council. Over the last few days, you've been assigned groups and now you'll be given targets. But before we get to that, I'd like to introduce a guest who will be helping us out. Oh, and there'll be _no_ staking of our guests."

Buffy waved her hand and from the shadows, a man in a black leather duster with slicked back platinum blonde hair appeared, taking in the scene with a cocky grin. There was an outburst of talking at his arrival. Some had, no doubt, read about him and recognized pictures of the second worst vampire currently alive. The rest were mainly interested because they lived in a castle with almost a hundred other girls and only one man.

"This is Spike," said Buffy, as the talking died down.

The introduction did not make things better, and neither did they. "What the sodding hell is he doing here?" shouted by a girl at the far right corner.

The vampire fired up at once, pushed past Buffy's outstretched arms and stared the crowd down. "Fighting the good fight now. Got me a soul and everything… but I've killed a pair of slayers with these two hands." He held up his hands for effect. "If any of you have a problem, form up in a neat bloody line and I'll take you on one at a time."

"Spike, maybe this isn't the best way--"

"Silence!" The female voice echoed across the hall, and the command and authority it carried was enough to bring all conversation to a halt, and caused all eyes to turn in its direction.

From the shadows, another figure appeared. She was noticeably thin in the tight leather-costume that covered her entire body, had dark hair with cobalt streaks in it and crystalline eyes that surveyed the room as though she owned it and everyone in it.

"So," began Buffy awkwardly. "This is-"

"I am Illyria, God-King of the Primordium!'

There was more whispered conversation as everyone tried to figure out just what the hell was going on.

"Right--" continued Buffy loudly, trying to rally attention before the crossbows' bolts started flying. "Seeing as Spike here was sired by Drusilla, who we will be going after, he'll have some information to share with that group later. Illyria is here to… help." Quite frankly she did not know anything about the strange woman-thing besides that she was an ancient demon who apparently fought for their side now. Looking at her, Buffy wasn't particularly confident on that score, despite Spike's word.

"While we have Spike here, I thought it would be a good opportunity to test your skills. Any volunteers?"

Satsu's hand shot up immediately, accompanied shortly by half a dozen other. Most of those others were too green, though, so Buffy bade Satsu to come up to the platform. While she didn't want to give anybody a special treatment, she really did want Spike to get his ass kicked.

The younger slayer walked up to the podium with her back straight, grinning. But Buffy, who knew her better than most (Or at least she liked to think so) thought she saw some uncertainty in her eyes. "Play nicely, now," she told the both of them.

"Spike is my pet," said Illyria, her voice echoing across the room. "Should you damage him permanently, you will find my wrath terrible to behold."

Satsu took the initiative, aiming a high kick at Spike's head. The vampire quickly ducked and attempted to sweep away the slayer's other leg. But he wasn't fast enough and met nothing but air as the girl jumped backwards out of his path. He raised his hands like a boxer and threw out a few jabs, which Satsu deflected easily. Grinning, he walked closer to her.

"Not bad,' he remarked, standing back at a relaxed stance with a cocky grin. "You remind me a bit of that slayer I offed back in the day in China. You're prettier, though."

Satsu took a few quick steps forward and for a second, Buffy thought she'd been stupid enough to be provoked by the statement, but she dropped the haymaker she had initiated with her right hand and lashed out a vicious kick with her left leg instead.

Faster than anyone (Buffy included) had expected, Spike raised his right arm. As a result, the kick hit him just below the arm pit with enough power to bend a lamp post. The vampire grunted in pain at the broken ribs, but now held the slayer's leg firmly in his grip. Slowly, he dragged her closer, finally vamping out and kissing his would-be victim's throat.

"You're dead, pet," he drawled, before letting a struggling Satsu go.

"Good job, both of you," said Buffy, taking the younger slayer's place. "A rematch is long overdue, don't you think Spike?" She then proceeded to beat the (un)living shit out the vampire.

After helping the grimacing Spike to his feet, she turned to the audience. "For those who are unsure about which group you are in, there's a list on the door, but you'll have to look at it later. Don't do it now or you'll block the door. Group three, we'll meet up in the command central in twenty minutes. Dismissed."

---

Slayer command center, roughly 20 minutes later.

"I'm not gonna dust Dru for you and that's the bleeding end of it!"

"Then why the hell did you come visit in the first place?"

They stood ten yards apart, glaring at each other in a very familiar way. Spike took a few deep breaths and walked closer to Buffy. "I can help you, tell you everything I know bout the crazy bint--but I loved her for over a century. I can't kill--" His voice cut off abruptly as he walked past Satsu and took a deep breath through his nose, then took the few remaining steps towards Buffy and repeated the process, a cocky grin forming on his lips.

'Shit,' thought Buffy.

"Well well," the vampire said with amusement, looking at the Japanese slayer, then back at Buffy again. "Seems like someone's got a new plaything."

"She's not a plaything!" the blonde slayer hissed back.

"No, of course not." He glanced at Willow, who flushed red when he added. "Please tell me Wicca-gal is involved with these recent changes."

"Hey!" The witch exclaimed indignantly.

"You better start giving us information before I stake you, Spike," Buffy threatened heatedly. She really had forgotten just how annoying the vampire could be when he felt like it. Satsu was looking embarrassed and nobody was going to make her girl look emba--

Hang on. Freeze and rewind. "Her girl?" Where the hell had that come from? And why was she feeling like going over to the slayer and comforting her with a rather inappropriate display of public affection?

"Right--" Spike looked Buffy in the eye, just a second, but the look conveyed everything he would never say so the others would hear it. An apology, among other things. Then he continued talking as though it never happened.

"Drusilla sired me back in 1880. She was in turn sired by Angelus. Before turning her, he drove her out of her mind because… well, I suppose he thought it was amusing or something."

He plopped down in a chair next to Satsu, smirking at her for a second before continuing his monologue. "Angelus was a monster, even worse than I was, which is to say quite a lot. I'm number two on that fancy list of yours, ain't I?"

"You are," Buffy confirmed.

"Drusilla really was a masterpiece of torture. She's entirely out of her mind, but by no means stupid like her dear ol' sire, Captain Forehead."

"It says that she's a seer too, is that true?" the girl beside him asked, and Spike turned to her, though he addressed the whole room when he replied.

"It is. Complete bloody gibberish mostly, but sometimes she saw things. She's killed a slayer, too."

"Do you have a location on her?" asked Xander.

"Madrid last I heard."

"Paris actually," said Willow, stepping forward. "Massacred a orphanage there yesterday."

"She will be dealt with tomorrow," Buffy said firmly. "But she's not _our _target. We will be taking out Genina. Spike, have you heard of her?"

The vampire actually seemed to grow paler at the mention of the name, an impressive feat. "Oh, yeah, I know her."

* * *

_Only the older, more experienced policemen went into the small suburban house that was the crime scene. At the first killings, some of the cockier rookies had gone in… and generally come rushing right back out to vomit at the gruesome sight. Based on the description the traumatized witness had given, this location would be similar to the dozen others and as such, everyone was cautious or even scared to enter._

_The pattern of the victims was inconclusive. Male and female, rich and poor, young and old. Sometimes, entire families had been slaughtered right down to the infant children._

_Based on the hair samples they had located, the murderer was a woman, which made the case of the ex-special forces member who had been beaten to death barehanded seem very strange indeed. The official theory was that there were several culprits, though there was no evidence whatsoever to support it. Several specialists had also pointed out that even if the murderer was a professional boxer, it was still unlikely she'd even get close to causing such extensive damage._

_Ironically, the poetry on the walls, handwritten by the murderer, indicated that she had abnormally small hands. The method of the killings was impressively inspired, different almost every time, but always lengthy and painful._

_Suffice to say, they were all clueless and the press would most likely be having a field day with their new serial killer, who they had already nicknamed The Red Poet._

* * *

"I met her back in the seventies, in New York. She was more of a discreet individual back then, which is why I think almost nobody knows anything about her. Fortunately for us, she was quite fond of Dru, probably liked the thought of parents."

Buffy took a step forward. "We know next to nothing about her. Just that she prefers killing families and that she lately likes to write on the walls of the houses where she kills."

Spike nodded and ran his hands over his platinum blonde hair, before reaching into the pocket of his duster for a cigarette. Buffy considered telling him to put it out, but changed her mind. The likelihood of passive smoking killing them wasn't exactly frightening.

"She's always been the smart kind of vampire," continued Spike. "Mostly, she killed the children and then cleaned up the mess. I suppose that's one of the reasons she's lived so long."

"How long, exactly?" asked Buffy evenly. Vampires did grow stronger the older they got, although the rate that it happened varied greatly from one vamp to another.

"Ain't rightly sure. Over seven hundred years. Couldn't have killed her if I wanted to. Never considered it, really."

For explanation, he reached into the pocket of his jeans, withdrew his wallet and took out a picture which he showed Buffy. Spike was standing there, wearing just about the same clothes as he was now. At his side, with an arm around the blonde vampire stood Drusilla--beautiful, even though she was staring off into space. In between them stood a girl, dark-skinned with waist-length ebony locks, looking no older than nine. They looked rather like a miss-matched family.

"Now you see why I couldn't kill her--not even when I didn't have a soul. I didn't have the heart."

"She's a child," whispered Buffy. "Just a little girl. Who'd do that to a little girl?"

Hand trembling, she handed the picture over to Willow.

"She's not a little girl," Spike contradicted her. "She's a monster, sadistic enough to give Angelus a run for his money and hell of a lot stronger."

The blonde Slayer glanced back at the photo, now in Leah's hands. 'She could've been Kendra's little sister,' she thought to herself.

Illyria observed the slayers displeasure at the picture they were viewing with her head cocked to the side. "You are troubled by the appearance of the half-breed," she concluded. "But still you know that she is naught but a demon trapped inside a shell as I am, albeit far less sophisticated."

"Human beings don't take killing children lightly, Smurfette," Spike told the Old One calmly.

Illyria fixed him with her cold gaze, clearly not satisfied with the nickname. "Were you not a source of amusement to me, I would rip out your intestines and feed them to you," she informed the vampire evenly. Spike grinned right back at her.

"Whatever she is," Buffy said finally. "She's in New York. We'll be taking a plane tomorrow evening to stop her. Make sure you're prepared and well-rested. We'll get weapons once we're there so don't bother bringing any." Understanding themselves dismissed, all the slayers but Satsu left the room.

Xander and Willow walked out too, with the witch putting a hand over her mouth to cover a yawn. The both of them would be meeting Faith in France to take care of Drusilla. Apparently, the dark slayer had thought it unwise to visit them in Scotland. Buffy didn't blame her--the two of them together usually led to an exchange of punches and/or knives.

"Ma'am." Satsu approached, and Buffy felt a tingle of excitement run down her spine at the title. It still bothered her how hot it got her when the younger slayer called her that. Thank god she didn't know that.

"You don't have to call me that when there's no other people around." Buffy smiled when Satsu glanced in the direction of Spike and Illyria. "They're not people, strictly speaking."

"I was just wondering--" Satsu didn't complete the sentence, once again watching the Old One and the vampire, who were observing the exchange with interest.

Unable to help herself, Buffy stepped forward, caressing her fellow slayer's blushing cheek. "You were saying?" she prodded.

"Yeah… I was saying something… and then you started doing that." She leaned into the touch, eyes closed.

"Now, that has to be the hottest damn thing I've seen since Darla and Drusilla played in the bathtub that once back in--"

Both slayers and, surprisingly, Illyria too, glared at the vampire. "I was studying their exchange," she said coldly. "I have never seen lovers of the same gender and now I shall no longer be able to observe due to your interference."

Buffy leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Satsu's lips as she nodded in the direction of the door, surprising both herself and the receiver of the kiss. The younger girl's eyes were round in confusion as they left the room. Their relationship had thus far never really extended to any other area than the bedroom. Except that one time in the sparring room… And once in an alley after they had been slaying.

In a future not even 24 hours away, the bathroom of an airplane would be added to that list.

---

They found themselves in Buffy's room again that night, as they usually did.

"You're looking odd," Satsu pointed out, ever observant.

"I'm feeling odd."

"Is… Is it my fault?"

Buffy smiled at the Japanese slayer, sitting down on the bed next to her. "Yeah, sort of. But not in a bad way. I'm not gay." Her last statement lacked conviction to such a degree that it bordered on being a question. "But then there's this." She indicated at the both of them. "And now I'm confused."

Satsu did nothing. She never really pushed their relationship in any direction, but simply seemed to be content to take whatever Buffy offered. The blonde slayer felt guilty about that, how she had all the control when she quite frankly did not want it.

"I don't understand."

"I don't either," said Buffy, smiling gently at her lover. "'Cause for someone not gay, I'm starting to like this a lot."

"Dummy." Satsu looked her in the eye and leaned in slowly. She would wait for Buffy to make the move, though.

"Kiss me. You don't have to be afraid," Buffy told her firmly.

Satsu looked down, caught. "Sorry. I'm scared of the day when I would--and you'd say no. Say that you had changed your mind."

For a little while, Buffy didn't know what to say to that. She'd really messed things up again.

"When I was with Spike… I wasn't feeling good about myself--or anything else for that matter. I used him and then spat at him, and even if he was a soulless monster then he didn't deserve that."

Satsu was about to speak, but two fingers at her lips silenced her.

"Just let me… I promised myself that I'd never do that again. I couldn't live with myself if I just used you and as strange and new as this whole relationship is to me, I kinda like it."

"Relationship?" Satsu brightened, and hugged the senior slayer so tightly that if she were an ordinary human, her ribs would be in some serious jeopardy.

"I think I'd like to try," Buffy whispered softly. "What do you say?"

"Hai."

During the weeks they have been lovers and some before that, Buffy had learned some Japanese. She wasn't fluent, like her sister with the crazy gift of learning languages, but she had picked up a few words here and there. "Hai" meant yes, she knew. She had also learned a few phrases like "Hello" and "How are you doing", just for the fun of it.

Then there were the sweetly whispered pet names that Satsu only ever used in private after Dawn had overheard them and teased her mercilessly about it.

And, of course, some of the words she only ever heard in bed and sometimes when she screwed up during training or when they were killing things. With some deduction from her very clever mind, Buffy figured that they were most likely weren't the nicest of words and, to be quite honest, she rather liked them despite herself.

Satsu's hands strayed to the blonde slayer's neck as they kissed, caressing the scars from the two vampire bites she had received in the line of duty. Buffy has always hated the scars, whereas her… girlfriend?… always said she thought they made her look tough and sort of sexy.

Well, that's something. She did have quite a few scars collected. Even with the slayer healing, such things were unavoidable.

"When are we taking the plane tomorrow?" Satsu whispered, her labored breathing washing over Buffy's ear before seizing said ear between her teeth.

"Oh, ten in the evening. We're leaving four hours before that--check in and everything."

"Plenty of time to sleep all day then, huh?"

Buffy tensed up at the hand on her hip, sneakily working it's way up her shirt. "Doesn't sound like a--mmm--bad idea."

"Good, 'cause tonight--" She continued the sentence in Japanese. Buffy did not know then that Satsu had told her she was going to fuck her senseless, but oh was she about to find out.

---

"All Americans aren't fat!" Buffy insisted heatedly.

It was noon and the two slayers were getting dressed. The last two times they had tried, distractions had ensued, but the rumbling of their stomachs could only be put aside for so long.

"Oh come on, I read it's like 50%," Satsu pressed.

"That's…" Probably true, "…complete crap!"

"Naw, it's true."

"There weren't many fat people in Sunnydale." It was true, the people of her old town had been in strangely good shape in general.

"'Cause they got tons of exercise running away from the hordes of monsters, I imagine."

Buffy couldn't help but to laugh at that. She put her hand on the other slayer's shoulder for a playful shove, but could not help tracing the soft tan skin down to the elbow and back up again.

"You've got to stop doing that or we'll never get down to eat."

"I might," Buffy replied, grinning wickedly.

---

They spent another hour in bed before there finally came a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Buffy called out. She was just too tired to go get dressed and check.

"Willow, can I come in?"

"If you're wearing that BDSM leather stuff and want to drink my blood, no you can't."

Taking that as an invitation, the witch opened the door.

"Oh, hi, Satsu." The redhead blushed when she realized the both of them were in bed, together, most likely naked after loads and loads of sex.

"Hi, Will."

The two of them had gotten on quite well since the trip to Japan, but then again, anyone who didn't love the sweet woman just wasn't worth spending time with, as far as she was concerned. Buffy was glad that at least someone approved of her choice for the whole 'relationship' thing.

"Am I interrupting?" the witch asked, eyeing their obvious state of undress with amusement. Both of the other girls blushed.

"Just cuddling," Buffy mumbled defensively, though it was actually true.

"But the cuddling's great!" exclaimed Willow, looking guilty as she got up from the chair she had only spent a few seconds in.

"I think I need to have a talk with Kennedy, then," Satsu mused, making Willow's cheek go red.

"No, no, nothing wrong with Kennedy," said Willow, her face taking a vacant, happy look. "Especially with the tongue piercing. I mean, wow."

"Do you think I should get one of those?" Satsu asked, ignoring the witch's rampant babbling.

"No!" Buffy insisted firmly. "I like your tongue just the way it is--and, uh, I don't think Willow wants or needs to know that. What's up?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Oh, not bad. Yourself?"

"Just spent my lunch trying to explain the whole lesbian thing to the God-King of the Primordium, which, sidebar, isn't my idea of a good time."

Both slayers laughed at her and the witch pouted, trying to look annoyed when Buffy knew she too thought it somewhat amusing.

Suddenly, Buffy's stomach growled loudly.

"Godess Buffy, when was the last time you ate?"

The slayer blushed as her eyes drifted to Satsu for just a moment, and then the blush deepened when she realized her best friend caught it. "Um, last night. We were going, but--distractions."

The witch sighed knowingly. "How about you go take a shower." The younger slayer's face lit up and Willow quickly added, "Separately. I'll stay here for some girl-talk with Satsu."

Buffy pouted but left, knowing that her friend had a very good point. She made a mental note to get a mini-fridge full of snacky goodness for future events like these.

---

They managed to get down to the dinner table eventually, though Illyria caught up with them and demanded that Willow speak further to her.

Dinner was messy affair because, somehow, Satsu even managed to make eating look dead-sexy.

There was no time to do anything about it, though, as they were forced to leave for the airport. The groups had been spread out over three days to make things look less conspicuous. The worst part was the disguise. Considering they were going by airplane to America, where Buffy's name lay just below Bin Laden's on the most wanted list, Willow had to work some of her magic and set the slayer up with a glamour charm. But at least the rest of them weren't wanted, which Willow had confirmed through some computer work of questionable legality.

Now a brunette with an entirely different appearance (thankfully not a horrible one; she owed the witch that much) and very grumpy about it, Buffy sat in the cool airplane, trying to ignore Satsu's hand on her leg under the blanket, shooting the younger girl looks every now and then to tell her to cut it out. She didn't, sadly--just kept rubbing, raising those evil fingers higher and higher up her thigh.

The older slayer managed another ten minutes before dragging Satsu off to join the mile-high club.


	2. The Red Poet

A/n: I once again thank Barnabas.C for all the help with this story.

Disclaimer: You'll find the extent of my ownership of Buffy (and Vampire:the masquerade) in the dictionary under the word "None."

* * *

Gently, Buffy pushed open the reinforced steel door and peeked inside, smelling and listening to see if anything was around. As far as she could detect, nobody had been inside the place for at least twenty-four hours. Besides, Satsu was standing behind her and _that _particular smell did distract.

Weapons raised just in case, they filed into the building, but relaxed when they had confirmed that it was, without any doubt, empty.

The remodeled warehouse was impressively spacious, about half the size of a soccer field. There were windows by the ceiling that were covered by what look like moveable steel plates (Spike, who walked in a few seconds later, would no doubt be very thankful of that fact when the sun rose). The door was placed roughly at the middle of the building. To the left, there was a wall, half of which was full of swords, axes and maces of every variety. The rest was covered by large sturdy dart boards for throwing practice. On the other side of the room on an elevation to two floors, separated only by an iron railing and connected by a spiral staircase, there were enough beds to accommodate two dozen people.

Buffy immediately went over to a chest by the wall holding all the weapons, unlocking it with a key from her pocket. Inside lay the Scythe, the mesh of the indefinable red metal and steel glinting in the fluorescent light from above. They'd been forced to send it in advance to avoid those pesky metal detectors at the airport. The blonde slayer took it, closing her eyes as the feeling of the weapon's power surged up her arms, making the skin tingle.

Speaking of tingling skin, a soft warm hand was placed on her shoulder and Buffy knew without looking up who it was.

"Can I hold it?"

Buffy held the Scythe out by the wooden part at the end, offering it to her most promising lieutenant, who took it with a look of reverence on her face.

"Wow," she murmured, no doubt experiencing the feeling of 'rightness' the Scythe brought when held.

"Best high ever, I'll tell you. Better than being drunk, at least."

"Never have been," Satsu admitted.

"When we're done here, we'll change that," Buffy promised, taking the Scythe and putting it back in the chest.

"I've got something for you." The blonde slayer reached inside the chest again and pulled out a slender curved sword still in in scabbard and held it out to Satsu. "For you," she explained, blushing softly.

Eyes wide, the younger slayer reached out and took the sword in her hands. Almost tenderly, Satsu unsheathed the blade and held it out to inspect it. "It's beautiful," she murmured.

"It's um- a late birthday present. I know you ruined the other sword fighting Twilight and…"

The other girl had spotted the Japanese signs written on the blade an inch above the hilt. It had been a spur of the moment kind of thing, adding them, inspired by watching The "Last Samurai" DVD one time too many.

"I belong in the hands of a champion," Satsu read aloud, tracing the signs as she did.

"Willow enchanted it, too, so it shouldn't be as breakable."

Smiling, Satsu put the sword in it's sheath, took a step towards Buffy, then hesitated for a moment before she leaned in and kissed Buffy.

Behind them, slayers were commenting and giggling, some cheering and applauding, which eventually broke the moment.

"Alright," said Buffy loudly. "Gather around."

When the twelve other slayers along with Spike and Illyria were assembled in a loose ring, Buffy cleared her throat. "Fifteen of us. That makes five teams of three. Who here has been in New York before? Show of hands, please."

There were five girls who had been to the city before. Spike, who she already knew had history there, went with Illyria and one of the greener slayers named Megan. Buffy had been here too, although that was nearly a decade ago now.

Buffy quickly divided up the twelve remaining slayers. She headed one of the four groups herself, and made Satsu the leader of another, thinking she deserved the opportunity.

"Genina is likely to hang out near playgrounds and graveyards. Apparently she prefers sleeping in crypts. If you find her, stay out of sight and contact until there are more people around. If you find any nest that outnumbers you, you call for back-up. I don't want anybody being stupid and dead at the end of this thing. Questions?"

There were none.

"We meet up here at six in the morning. Nobody's sleeping until nine. I want everybody on the top of their game tomorrow 'cause we'll be pulling an all-nighter."

When Buffy returned from patrol three hours after dawn, she was completely exhausted. All-together, they had slain almost two dozen vampires and several demons. There had been little news on Genina, however. The few vampires and demons who had talked mentioned places they had already checked, but most preferred death.

She sat down on a chair by the wall, waiting for Satsu's group to return. They had reported problems earlier in the night, though there had been no details on what, only that she needed to talk to them. It was an hour until they were due to go to bed, either way.

When the last group of slayers entered the room, Buffy jerked her head up, having been dozing off. "What's up? Heard you had trouble."

"I did," Satsu confirmed stiffly, stepping to the side to let the two other slayers file in.

One had a large purple bruise on her chin.

"What got you, Jess?" Buffy asked, eying the mark. Must've hurt.

"She did," the dark-haired slayer replied angrily, glaring daggers at Satsu.

"She got you?"

"Yeah!"

Buffy waved for Satsu to follow her outside and told the other two to stay put.

"Explain," she told the younger girl briskly, a bit too much so, once they had moved twenty yards away from the warehouse. At the hurt look in her fellow slayer's eyes, she quickly decided to clarify her intentions. "I'm listening to your story first. I'm not gonna have you sent off to pasture out in the countryside or something. Although, our base is in the countryside, strictly speaking… Never mind, go on."

"We were downtown checking out a few of the pubs, you know, just checking for vampires. The place was kinda big, so we split up. I go to the bathroom for two minutes and then I find Jess with some retards in a corner, snorting coke and- I'm sorry, I lost it."

Buffy felt that she should tell the younger slayer off for the punching, but considering all the times she and Faith fought, even when they were on the same side, she couldn't bring herself to do it. "You shouldn't have to resort to using violence in those situations," she said instead, putting a hand of Satsu's shoulder. "I understand, though." She sighed. This wasn't the first time this had happened, of course. Their army did consist of a bunch of teen-age girls, after all. An example had to be set, though.

"Where's your stuff?" she asked Jess as soon as she had returned inside. There was no point in tackling this privately. Might as well let everyone see what happened in situations such as these.

"My stuff?"

"Yes, your stuff. I want you to pack it. You're taking the next flight back to Scotland."

"I'm what? Come on, it was just-"

"It's not that you did drugs. I'm not your parent, it's not my business what you do with your body when you're not on the job. When you _are_ on the job, you have others who expect you to have their back. You didn't."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it'd such a big deal… I didn't think."

"No, you didn't think," Buffy told her calmly. "Next time, I'm sure you will. Call Andrew and ask him to arrange for a flight when you've had some sleep."

Looking firmly at the ground, Jess nodded.

They went to bed an hour later and Buffy lay there for a while, eyes closed, but unable to drift off. There was weight on her mattress and Buffy cracked an eye open, turning to see who, though her other senses already knew.

"No, Satsu," she whispered, both annoyed and amused at the same time. Even if she hadn't been too tired, it would have been impossible unless they wanted to wake up half of the others.

For a few moments, she looked into Satsu's hauntingly beautiful eyes, then the girl rolled away and made to leave. Shit, she'd messed up again. She hadn't meant to dismiss her like that. They just couldn't do anything right now. That didn't mean she had to leave.

"S-sorry."

"Wait." Buffy reached out and grabbed the younger slayer's wrist. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Stay. Please?"

Though the tears were still present, Satsu smiled at the request and quickly got under the covers to cuddle up close. Over the four weeks they had been involved, they had never once _just_ cuddled. They usually did after sex and it was always nice, but this was a new first.

"Aishite masu," Satsu whispered tenderly, kissing the blonde softly on the lips.

Buffy knew what that phrase meant and probably would have even if it hadn't been one of the few she had looked up. Smiling, she turned around and held Satsu's body close to hers, their noses touching every now and then as they made themselves more comfortable. "You know, this doesn't suck," she murmured sleepily.

"Mmm-hmm…" Satsu was already half gone, and they did not speak any further until sleep claimed them a few minutes later.

Many hours later, a few yards away, the blonde ensouled vampire got up from his bed. The slayers were all in bed, but he could hear something moving around, so he got up to see what.

Leaning over the ledge that separated the elevated area with the beds from the rest of the warehouse, he saw it was only Illyria, doing something that appeared to be a strange mix between martial arts and ballet. He watched her for a little while, then turned to see if Buffy was awake.

She clearly was not, all snuggled up with that new bird of hers. He didn't know if it made him a bad man because he was jealous, but he definitely was. But ultimately, he loved the slayer and wanted her to be happy.

Looking at her serene sleeping features, he knew for a fact that she was and that was good enough for him. Maybe one day he'd get another shot. Maybe he wouldn't.

Deciding he needed to hit something, he went back to his bed and got his duster, before jumping down off the ledge to do some sparring with Blue. It was only three yards to the ground below. There were stairs, of course, but it didn't look nearly as bad-ass. He was still a vampire and had appearances to consider, after all.

**20:14, New York, apartment building**

Buffy slipped the lock pick into the lock and went to work, while Satsu watched the hallway to ensure their little break-in remained private. There was a click, followed by an excited squeal from the older slayer. The two of them entered the apartment, closed the door and hit the lights.

It was smallish, with a little area for a kitchen immediately to the left. Right in front of them, up against the wall, there was a bed. At the back of the room, to the left, there was a bathroom. The contours of a body were drawn at the centre of the room on the carpet, which was stained in blood. Lots of it, spread out all over the place.

"The police report says he was pinned to the floor by thin steel sticks through the hands and the stomach. None of them damaged any vital organs or important blood vessels, so he probably lay there for a while- yuck." Grimacing, Buffy handed Satsu the folder containing the police reports.

"Anything else?"

"Picture of it and then one of the wall."

They both stepped closer to area above the bed where words were written in dried blood.

_

* * *

_

_Why do I see her? The never ending night… _

_Why do I see her, wearing nothing but the dark? _

_I know where you live_

_I can see it through your darkness_

_And when you sleep I hear a heart that beats you._

* * *

"That's nice," Buffy remarked.

"What does it mean?"

"Beats me." She shrugged, giving the words a last glance.

"Nothing left to do here, then?"

"No, let's go."

They ducked under the yellow tape and resumed the hunt.

**---**

**22:00, New York, a mile away from the warehouse**

As far as dark and dank alleys went, this wasn't a particularly bad one. Minimal amounts of litter, no bums lying around and the stench of urine almost wasn't noticeable.

"This is Daphne, calling Blue Thunder, report in, over." Buffy hated the name she'd been given, but it was a member of the Scooby gang with whom she shared an uncanny resemblance, so the others had ganged up on her.

"I will report when I have reason to," Illyria replied. "Contact me no further."

"Daphne, calling Red Riding Hood, report in, over."

"We've dusted one vampire, but that's all, over," Vi answered. Being based in New York these days, she had been a natural choice to bring along.

"Hey, Daphne. How's Scooby doing, over?" It was Liza, a cheeky girl from Holland who had shown great competence with the crossbow back in Scotland.

"Why the hell am I Scooby, over?" Satsu asked irritably as the alley split up in two directions and she and Buffy took a right.

"Cause you're licking Daphne on a regular basis." Liza, who was giggling hard took another fifteen seconds to add the "Over" to the end of the sentence.

All across New York, slayers doubled over with laughter.

"Don't you dare laugh or you're not getting any tonight," Satsu threatened Buffy, who pouted in response.

"I won't?"

"Nope."

"Well, too many girls around anyways. I don't fancy a threesome, though I imagine Spike might."

"If she ever dumps Kennedy, you're free to ask Willow," Satsu remarked with a grin.

Buffy shuddered. "Not gonna happen. I'm only gay for you."

Satsu sighed, but smiled.

"You know you have it bad when stuff like_ that _actually sounds cute…"

They left the alley and peeked through the traffic and the people to the other side of the road and beyond where there was a park containing a small playground surrounded by a chain-link fence. Out of the five lamps around it, only one had an intact bulb, but in the dim light, a small dark girl could be seen on the swings.

"This is Daphne, calling all units. We've located our target," she reported, looked up at the nearest street sign, and gave their location. "Over." Buffy shut the walkie-talkie down and put it in her pocket.

"Should we wait for the others?" the younger slayer whispered, sinking back against the wall to stay hidden in the shadows.

"Yeah, they're on their way."

They waited for ten minutes, but when they saw a stranger nearing the sandbox, they felt it would be best to go there, even if the man did not go near the suspected vampire. Trying hard to appear casual, the crossed the street and walked over the sand-box to the swings, where the little girl still sat stock-still.

"Hi there," Buffy said softly, stopping two yards short of the rusty swings.

"Where's mommy?" The girl asked, sounding close to tears. God damn that was a good act, the slayer thought.

Genina had not changed a bit since the picture, aside from her clothes. She now wore a light-blue dress and a hat of the same color as well as a brown jacket.

Buffy reached inside her pocket as she took a step closer, uncorking a bottle of holy water. They had to be sure. Behind her, Satsu had her hand in the opened sports bag, no doubt grasping the sword kept hidden there.

"I don't know. How long have you been waiting for her?"

"An hour- maybe-"

Buffy brought the holy water out from under her black leather jacket and sent some of it flying with a flick of her wrist. Upon contact with the little girl's skin, it started to sizzle and her face changed to the demonic visage hidden beneath.

"Genina," Buffy said, dropping the bottle, getting the Scythe out of it's hiding place in the sports bag she carried with her.

The little girl jumped off the swing gracefully, cocked her head to the side and pouted. "Slayer?"

"Mm-hmm. Pleasure to be killing you today."

Buffy swung her weapon at Genina's head, but the little vampire was out of the way much too fast and the Scythe went straight through the three inch thick wooden pole keeping the swings up as though it were butter.

"Shiny," Genina remarked, eyeing the scythe with admiration rather than fear.

Buffy cast Satsu a look to tell her to flank the vampire, but noticed she was already on it. "Thank you very much," she responded with a sardonic little bow.

"I'm curious, though," the little girl began. "Did you really think it would be this easy?"

An, "Oh shit," from Satsu at her right made her look around. They were surrounded by a ring of vampires who were closing in.

The Japanese slayer quickly flitted to her comrades side, moving so that they stood back to back.

"If you get a gap, take the Scythe and run," Buffy said quietly.

"Screw that," Satsu shot back. "At least I can't complain about dying in bad company."

"Your confidence is not exactly inspiring."

"Too bloody bad."

The vampires were closer now, only a few yards away from the chain-link fence. Genina was up on the swing again, giggling.

Buffy knew what they had to do and she knew that Satsu was already thinking in the same pattern. They were surrounded, so they had to force their way through a weak spot of the encirclement. But the odds weren't exactly good.

"Half-breeds! Kneel before me or die!" The god-king's booming voice shattered the silence and some of the vampires turn to see who was stupid enough to command them to do anything. There were over thirty of them, after all.

It was the distraction the slayers had sorely needed and they charged towards their allies. Limbs flew and left their clothes and skin stained in blood as they cut a swath through the line.

Once on the other side, they realized there were only four other slayers there along with Spike and Illyria. Buffy picked up her walkie talkie and put it on.

"Hurrying up just a bit won't hurt, over." She disabled and pocketed it again.

The vampires had formed into a line now with Genina at it's center. "Willie!" she exclaimed suddenly, taking a few steps forward. Some of her followers made to follow, but she waved them back.

"Been a while, kiddo," said the blonde vampire.

"It has." She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You have a soul now, like Angelus. I can smell it on you. How is Dru?" She stopped, a few yards away, pacing diagonally roughly at an equal distance from both lines.

"Still has her god damned marbles misplaced."

"Dust, as a matter of fact," Satsu corrected. They had received news on that an hour after leaving the safe house. The little girl stifled a sob, which for a moment foolishly made Buffy want to go over and hold her in her arms.

"Not only do you fight for the slayers, but you love one of them- her." Genina pointed her tiny hand and outstretched finger at Buffy. "William the Bloody, how the mighty have fallen. You know, of course, that she is sleeping with the other one." She scrunched up her nose in disapproval, much as a kid might, at the notion. Sighing dramatically, the little girl turned to the her soldiers. "Try to refrain from killing Willie. The rest, I don't care about."

As one, the vampires charged.

A crossbow bolt tore through the air with deadly accuracy and struck a vampire at Genina's side through the heart.

With a war cry, six more slayers entered the fray from the flank and with a clang of metal against flesh, the battle began.

Illyria took the lead, rushing straight at Genina, who sidestepped and thought to use the old one's momentum against her. She was sent flying into the dirt for underestimating her foe.

"You're mean," she noted with a pout. "You're no slayer, nor a vampire for that matter. Interesting." She licked her lips and circled her foe, aware but unconcerned about the mayhem occurring around her.

A slayer approached from behind with a stake aloft, but was sent flying five yards downhill into the chain link fence by fist to the chest that would dent steel plate.

"Were it not for the nature of your kind's demise, I would put your head on a pole and bring it to the slayer's castle as a trophy."

A slayer came flying and landed at Illyria's feet.

"Actually, I think the airport might object to that," the girl pointed out before returning to the battle. Genina jumped up in the air, aiming three kicks at the old one's face, which were all deflected.

"She's like fuckin' Yoda," a slayer a few yards away remarked, being punished for her lack of attentiveness by a punch to the gut. Buffy, who was on her way past decapitated the vampire.

"Pay attention, Liza!" she shouted as she body-slammed two vampires off Satsu, staking the third.

"Were it not for Buffy's request to kill you, you would make an adequate pet," Illyria said, observing the little girl with interest.

Genina let two knives fall out of the sleeves of her jacket and spun around as she tossed them at the God-King of the Primordium. Far quicker than any human - or slayer, for that matter - could have, Illyria slapped the objects out of their trajectory, one ticking a slayer's hip due to their altered course. The indignant "Hey!" that followed made Genina giggle.

The dozen remaining vampires were scattering and fleeing.

"Vi," Buffy called out, ramming the stake part of the Scythe into the heart of a vampire held down by her boot crushing it's windpipe. "Chase them down - you're in charge. Satsu, let's give Blue Thunder a hand."

Genina still looked rather unconcerned as the two slayers and Illyria formed a loose circle around her.

"Didn't your mommies teach you it was bad to gang up on people?" she asked innocently.

"You're not people," said Buffy. "Besides, you ganged up on us first."

"What can I say? My mom sucked."

In a move so sudden her features became blurry for a second, Genina lashed out a roundhouse kick in Satsu's direction. The slayer managed to dodge it, but lost her balance and fell backwards doing so. Seeing an opening as Buffy took a step forward and raised the Scythe to strike, Genina turned on her instead, jumping at the blonde slayer's midriff.

They fell backwards together, Buffy gripping the little vampire around the throat and lifting her into the air. The vampire tried to go for the slayer's wrists, but found herself held still by Illyria who pinned her arms behind her back.

They lowered the struggling girl to the ground and held her there as Satsu came to them and put her sword on the tiny shoulder, looking to Buffy for orders.

After a nod, she struck, disintegrating the little vampire into dust.

The results of their skirmish were not pleasant to deal with afterwards. On the little hill, three slayers lay badly wounded, being tended to by two others. Vi had successfully hunted down the few that had escaped, but been arrested by the New York police for possessing a scary arsenal of weapons. And Spike…

Spike was cut up so bad that Buffy would surprised if there was a single drop of blood left in his body.

Of course, vampires were indestructible unless you severed the head, staked them or burned them, but even so, as she stood beside his bed, Buffy had to admit she was surprised that he could still be alive.

"Brave idiot," she murmured, kissing the wounded vampire's forehead. The sunrise wasn't very far off on the horizon now. It had taken a long time to get everyone back to headquarters. They'd had to send one of the girls to the hospital to get proper care.

"Couldn't stand to see the look on your face if you lost another," he whispered slowly, every word clearly painful. It was a large improvement - when they had brought him in he'd been too hurt to even moan about it.

Buffy looked up from the vampire's ravaged body to Satsu's face. There was a cut along her cheek and, she knew, one along her back but compared to most of the slayers, that wasn't bad.

"He saved me," she told Buffy softly. "I would never have made it if it wasn't for- thank you."

"It's what-" he coughed painfully. "It's what I do, love."

If it hadn't been for the fact that most his ribs were broken, Buffy definitely would have hugged him. "You'll need blood to heal properly and- as thanks… I know you've always wanted this."

She winked, though he did not see it. He had to fight to keep his eyes open even a little bit. He did hear the sound of two knives being unsheathed, though and he could both hear and feel the girls step closer. Then, he felt the warm hands on his cheek, wrists positioned at his mouth, followed by the sound of sharp steel cutting flesh.

The taste was indescribable, Spike thought. It had been over thirty years since the last time he had killed a slayer, a hundred since he had fed from one, but drinking from two at the same time, the different tastes mixing, was pure bliss.

It stopped after a while, but he could tell that the slayers had given him a lot, more so than was strictly healthy in point of fact, and he felt how it helped his tissue regenerate.

"Is it wrong if I think that was really hot?" Spike asked, a grin tugging at his lips.

"I think you should lie still and shut up," Buffy said, but not without a smile.

The vampire complied and the two slayers moved over to the bed they had shared before and sat down on the side of it as they tended to their injuries.

"Willow's coming over tomorrow morning to deal with Vi," the blonde slayer said quietly. "We'll leave with her later tomorrow night."

"Can't say the States have left such a great first impressions," the other replied.

"They'll grow on you."

"I thought you said we shouldn't mention all the obesity anymore."

Eyebrows raised, Buffy smacked Satsu on the back of the head.


End file.
